Imperator; an idea for a roleplay

Hello comrades, after watching I Claudius the TV show (tenth time at it) the idea struck me that a role play based on the idea could be incredibly fun.

For those of you who don't know the story I Claudius tells the story of the Julian Claudian dynasty of the Roman empire; the first dynasty to rule Rome as a result of the civil wars from Augustus to Nero's rise to power (the story ends with the death of emperor Claudius).

The story is about the family of Augustus the emperor of Rome and tells the story of the destruction of the family as done by its own hands (such as Livia poisoning a significant portion of the family in order to make her son emperor, Tiberius who killed or exiled nearly all of Gemranicus family after he died due to political reasons, Sejanus who eliminated those Tiberius forgot about, Caligula who killed whomever he liked etc). I can hardly explain the story and I highly recommend the series even if it is old fashion by our standards (which I prefer)

The series was based on books but I am yet to read them.

Any way I do not intend to follow the story word to word and I intend to customize the ruling family and characters will be up to the players who join.

What do you think about it? Please do give the idea some thought. In short the RP will be about such a family and the different interests of the factions within it (such as power an ambition, a return to the republic or plain old madness)

I am unsure on how it would work and I am wondering if the role play should be done as a short one extending no more then a number of years (RP) or one extending over a number of generations. I think I shall start it and see where it goes, who knows it might end up a chapter role play.

Post your ideas; I would really appreciate suggestions for it. For now I shall begin to make a draft of the role play.

Please offer sugestions, I really want to make this work. I shall send PM's to people i think may be intrested in such a role play.

Hey Colonel.

To get more interest I'd suggest removing the bit about it being inspired by a fandom. Generally people tend to stop reading if they haven't seen it or don't like it, despite whether or not it reflects the same opinion in your roleplay. You can try putting something like "Loosely based on X" instead.

I'd also suggest better organizing your information. Wall-o-texts generally scare people off. If you put bold headlines to separate information it's easier on the eyes and seems like less information. Basically, it's less intimidating.

I haven't seen the show, so I can't relate. (see!) I would however suggest that you try generalizing it to make it more accessible to everyone, leave out some names and do not say it's going to span over generations because that seems daunting! You have also explained the whole show, and roleplay, in your description so it makes me wonder that there is left to roleplay... especially when we now know the end.

Try explaining your idea as something like 'a roleplay about the rise and fall of an emperor of Rome'. Its easier to digest and leaves lots to be imagined.

As I expected I have utterly muddled up that post so I shall take the advice and try to describe my intention.

What I want to create is a role play based on the idea of I Claudius not a role play of I Claudius itself which is why I wonder if I should actually use Rome at all in the role play.

I shall give a greater amount of information on the story of I Claudius, I do not intend to copy the story and make a role play about it because that would be pointless; I intend to use the story as a bases for the role play itself. (the intrigue and corruption etc)

As most people know ancient Rome was a republic before it became the empire we all know however what many people do not know is how exactly that came to be.

Most people assume that Julius Caesar once he took power in Rome after defeating Pompeii's forces established the monarchy or that Augustus after he defeated Marcus Antonius established the monarchy during that time. Both are true in their own way but what not so many unless they dabble in roman history realize is that during all the time the Roman Empire existed the senate also continued to exist.

What actually killed the Roman republic was the Julian Claudian dynasty since that dynasty was responsible for the establishment of the system and the destruction of any one who resisted this.

Augustus was the first emperor or Rome and unlike Julius he was given the title willingly by the senate because of the many years of terrible civil war and the fact that men like Cicero and many others who defended the republic where long since disposed of. The senatorial class was cut to pieces in the civil war as former great families such as the Brutus family and many others where eliminated.

I Claudius tells the story of this imperial family and the power struggles within it, it should be known that the story itself is both historical and fictional since a lot of Roman history has been lost over the years and Roman historians are infamous for their inaccuracy and manipulation of fact. The story is based on historical accounts but is a novel and therefore subject to fiction however it is very interesting and entertaining. Augustus was married to Livia his second or third wife but the union produced no sons to succeed him; Livia according to the story wanted one of her own sons to succeed him however Augustus had others in mind something that did not please Livia and as the story goes Livia systematically removed any threats who could cast doubt over her sons succession of Augustus (Tiberius was one of her two sons from a previous marriage) ps: there is some historical doubt if Livia was responsible for poisoning half the imperial family however it is likely she had a hand in a number of such matters. Perversities which happened during this time such as Augustus's daughter Julia who slept with a great number of people or as Augustus says in I Claudius "is there any one in Rome who has not slept with my daughter!?"

Tiberius her son was infamous for his perversity and cruelty which he made no effort to hide but also did not make is public. The first few years of his rule are marked with the suspicious deaths of all others who had a claim to the imperial throne such as Germanicus which began a great scandal in the empire when Agrippina the elder (I think) blamed Tiberius for his murder my poison. Influenced by the commander of his bodyguard (which became much more then a body guard by that time) Sejanus Tiberius exiled Agrippina and two of her sons who where later starved to death under suspicious circumstances. Caligula as he was called her younger son was spared this treatment because he was liked by Tiberius and because he moved to live with Tiberius in Capri once Tiberius decided to retire leaving Sejanus the de facto ruler of the empire.

Sejanus preformed according to legend many treason trials which led to executions and decimated the senatorial class once more but was himself deposed once word reached Tiberius that it was Sejanus who had with the help of Livila daughter to his brother Drusus and wife of his son Castor who poisoned his son her husband and then plotted with Sejanus her lover to overthrow Tiberius. After Sejanus was killed murder again irrupted in Rome as all who where members of the Sejanus faction where killed.

After Tiberius Caligula rose to power and as one of his first actions of office killed the grandson of Tiberius who was still a small boy at the time as he was the co heir to the Empire. According to legend Caligula's madness led to an even greater terror then that which existed during the rule of Tiberius and he openly prostituted the aristocracy under the threat of death. It is also said that he appointed his horse to be a senator and declared himself a living god along with other equally shocking stories. At some point the senate and the legion where sick to death with him and assassinated him and much of his family in an attempt to restore the republic which failed once the praetorian guard declared Claudius as emperor (as they where the largest military unit within the walls of Rome nothing could be done against the motion. Claudius was the only male adult left alive in the family and the reason for this was that he seemed to be a half wit due to this stammer, limp and twitching which he later claimed to have exaggerated in order to survive his family.

Some have compared I Claudius as an historic game of thrones but I do not exactly agree with that. My intention is to have the same idea of the power struggles within an Imperial family however the players shall decide how this will develop. I shall post the draft once it is finished so that others may comment on it.

There is much more to the story of I Claudius but I feel that making my comment about the story any longer will scare people off so I shall leave it at that. I think the series has been uploaded onto YouTube so you can watch it there if you like.

Modesty I thank you for your ideas, I think I shall make use of them in my draft. Again I want to say that the role play would not follow the story I described but it would be the same style of the story.

Hmm... How about an aging, but strong emperor being in power at the time of the roleplay. Many members of the family would be looking to succeed him while a few are looking to restore the Republic.

Great idea! thanks.

I shall post my first draft in a few hours in order to fix it a bit and I will probbebly invent a diffrent name for the imperial family so players in the roleplay do not feel bound by history.

sounds interesting, if its not bound to historical accuracy. i loved the hbo show Rome

oh wow that show is old, thought you were talking about a recent series lol

Watched that to, I love HBO; they are one of the only tv/film companies i nearly always like the products of. Rome was a bit more violent and direct then I claudius but its the same principle and by the way HBO is doing an I claudius Remake.

Any way I was busy with a few things so I will hopefully put the draft one in a few hours.

This is my second draft of the role play, I shall add the character sheet and other matirials when I post it but this is for now the general idea of the role play. Please offer your opinions about it; I will be glad for any sugestions.


Imperator

"They say our family produces two kinds of fruit; the sweet and the sour. What kind of harvest will this generation prove to be?"


Rome; the greatest and most powerful city in the world, Rome is the center of an empire greater then any other both in the past and in the present due to men who marched from Rome to every corner of the world.

Once there where kings in Rome until the people rose up against them and a republic was formed. For hundreds of years the republic reigned and subjugated territory after territory in Rome's unstoppable march of conquest.

A great and powerful empire needs an equally great and powerful ruler and more importantly only one such ruler and it was thus inevitable that the Roman world should near annihilation as Roman fought Roman in a civil war which forever change Rome and its empire.

One man triumphed above all others, one man was hailed as the savior of Rome by a grateful senate and people, one man became emperor.

For more then thirty years Rome has prospered in a golden age of peace and reform under his benevolent gaze however as his life draws to a close the question of succession has grown from an important matter to a grave concern.

The emperor has no sons of his own since his own son whom he groomed to be his successor died in a boating accident fifteen years ago and his own grandsons by his son died during the past fifteen years in a variety of circumstances. Only by adoption shall the emperor gain a successor and so the emperor turns his gaze to his family and the struggle of succession enters its bloodiest and most critical period.

Who shall emerge the victor? Shall the monarchy persist in Rome? Shall the struggle for succession lead to another and even more terrible civil war? Or shall Rome see a return to the republic and an end to the exalted role of emperor with the death of the man who established it?

.Only one thing is for certain; Only one man can immerge the victor.

Information about the role play:

The role play takes place in the Roman world and its main setting shall be the imperial palace in Rome. The senate and other places In Rome such as the arena's and forums etc will be important secondary settings for the Role play. I would rather keep the majority of the role play within the city of Rome itself however I will allow some events to occur outside the city such as a military expedition to Germania or a visit to the *sibyl (these examples are not events that shall necessarily happen in the roleplay, they are simply examples of ways in which events can occur outside the city of Rome)

* a kind of oracle

The family itself is not made of only one family but of a number of families connected by blood, marriage and adoption. In the role play I chose to use the name of Cornelius (Cornelia) as the name of the imperial family however not all characters must be of this family and can be a relation such as marriage or adoption. Players who want to make a character that is not related to the imperial family or part a part of it in any way will need to inform me of such a character and give a detailed explanation for his role in Rome and the reasons why he has influence on the struggle of succession.

While I want this role play to at least have a Roman theme I do not demand that posts be historically accurate as this isn't a historically accurate role play. However things like the patriarchal nature of Rome and events such as the gladiatorial games will exist in the role play. (Female characters would be bound by such traditions however their importance to the struggle of succession may be more important then the men themselves; historically this was true of at least the Julian family)

I recommend reading Wikipedia articles about matters in which character would be involved in such as the senate and the legion. Obviously this is a massive subject which can take a life time to study so feel free to ask me about such matters and I will try to answer those questions, I am no expect on the subject of Rome but I know quite a bit about it.

I shall not allow child characters in this role play and the youngest acceptable age will be 16, NPC children characters are acceptable.

Depending on the amount of players I would like each player to have two characters, during the role play some characters may die and I would not want that to stop some one from taking part in the role play.

On the subject of killing other characters I can only ask that we first get the role play going and then discuss its development. At the beginning of the role play there shall exist a ban on killing other player's characters however this may change later in the role play however I will not enforce such a change unless the players agree to it and laws are made concerning the matter.

Sounds like it could be interesting, I'm also a huge fan of the Roman Empire, and works based upon it. It's arguably the coolest historical period. What would you think of a character who starts off as a gladiator, and ends up as the close friend and confidante to the Emperor, or one of those in line for his position, despite being no more than a servant and body guard.

Did you hear about Sejanus? He was the commander of the Praetorian Guard and nearly usurped power from Tiberius (2nd emperor)

He did so by establishing a spy network so powerful nothing happened in Rome without him having a hand in it or knowing about it. He even seduced Levila niece to Tiberius and wife of his son to poison her husband and eliminate the planned succession. He was eventually deposed and all his supporters and family where executed but he did come very close to taking over the empire.

I personally do not think a gladiator could reach such a position as Rome was divided by a cast system which would not allow this. Emperors might have had famous gladiators among their retainers but they where no where near a position like this.

I will give you this clip which answers your question quite well (don't worry its only two minutes long and quite funny)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsUThgpC_rg

I recommend that you read up about Sejanus. Agrippa is another good example of someone of low family who by serving the emperor became for a time his heir.

Some Freedmen became very important individuals in the empire but rarely did they attain a position of such significance. Roman families took their family name and position very seriously.

I recommend you use your idea more in the direction of a military officer in the legion but I am willing to read any ideas and accept them if they are good. I am just saying that it would not really go well with the Roman cast system.

This sounds awesome. I loved the pep talk to the gladiators. I found a clip just as funny from a more recent show. Got to love Roman hypocrisy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP2q7YiLjRQ

The gladiator would have no official status... He'd just be a servant and bodyguard like I said. Purchased, perhaps, by a paranoid or rightfully fearful senator or praetor or something. Despite his low status though, he would become a close friend and confidante to his master. Not in an official capacity like an advisor.

I didn't watch the video. Since it seems you completely misunderstood my question, I doubted it would hold any relevance.

You shoud! its quite funny :D


I am not sure about such a character and I would recommend playing such a character in adition to a charater such as a member of the family. the reason for this is that the role play will focus on the family.

I can accept a character like this but it he may become a small part in a greater tale which is why i would recommend taking a character of gerater importance in adition.

I will post the RP up soon ( i really should go to sleep now)

I will try to put it up today, i have been busy at work so i could only post in one RP.

I could not post today because i keep getting electricity brakes in my house (10 in two hours) hopefully this will be resolved tommrow.

It's alright. We understand.